Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-12-03
WHALING IN THE POLAR SEA.

PerfIs Encountered by the Norwo-
gians I'm Capturing the Levinth-n.
Every simmer the Polar sea, of the
coast Of Finmarken, Norway, Is alive
With whalers and their chasers. The
principal game of the Norwegian Is the
rreat blue whale. attaining a length of
Iome ninety to one hundred feet This
mammoth champion OF the Polar ocean
possesses immense strength, and the
yhaler's tackle must necessarily be
,old. When killed the whale sinks to
he bottom, and the captOr is apt to
ose his game. To prevent this Mr..
Syend Foyn, the pioneer Of the whaling
industry, has invented a new harpoon
whereto is affixed self-exploding
bomb filed with II gas-producing COM
position. When the whale is harpOon-
I'd tho bomb buried in the flesh of the
animal explodeS and the gas produced.
oermeating the veins and cavities OF
he leviathan. prevents him from SINK
ng.
How perilous and hazardous wheeling
s even with the most perfect appliances
and weapons, is well illustrated b. The
following narration b. an eyewitness.
IL was June day, with rough wealth
ST, rOugher even than usual on sum
mer day at Vardo. The little fleet OF
small. yet strong. whaling steamers
must try their luck, however and off
they GO In early morn NJ, steering to
I'D h.st ]. hn n
no avail. Not whale was to be seen
anywhere and the sea increasing, and
the wind developing almost into Il
storm, and they turned and steamed
hOmsward one after another, all but
one. He must try little further. The
waves tossed the plucky craft Ike
shell; the harpooner on watch must
lake care not to be thrown headfore-
most into the frothng waves. Yet no
whale; nothing TO be seen or heard but
the white mountains and thunder OF the
rolling waves. and the shr Ii whining of
the storm through the steamer. The
captain at last found the search fruit
less. and turned hOmeward. The vessel
arriving at the mouth of the harbOr,
big whale shot up in front, almost
touching the bow of the steamer. The
harpoOner, surprised Mt first was, how
ever up to his business. A flash, a
roar. and in the very moment the har-
pooh was buried to the handle in the
big whale, but strange, the bomb didn't
explode, and the animal, suffering in
tense agonies. shot out to sea, towing
the steamer after HIM. Against the
N N n
storm. the whaler went with lightning
speed though its engine was reversed.
For eight miles the terrible race went
on, only the masls and the chimney of
the steamer in the meantime being Wis
IDLE above the waters. The vessel was
strong. however. and the crew tried
men. who did not propose to let 90.
But what's thatp A fishing boat
with its keel upmOst and two men
clinging for life to the wrecki To cut
the line and save the men was the har-
pooner's first thought. Then we will lose
the whale, the line, and the harpoon.
thousands of crowns worth, was his
second. II must soon lie done and IN
few minutes we can he back and save
the men, was his conclusion, and on the
vessel went. Halo there, what is up?
The line burst, the whale sank out of
sight and the steamer tossed aimless on
the rolling waves. There was nothing
more to do. The captive was free, sink
ing slowly to die. But two human
lives were saved. and the whalers con-
sidered themselves richly rewarded for
their terrible race and the loss of their
game as WELL"